Apple supplier Salcomp eyes $2-$3 billion in India revenue, plans quick hiring

CHENNAI, Feb. 13 (Reuters) – Finland’s Salcomp, a supplier to Apple (AAPL.O), plans to double its workforce in India to 25,000 over the next three years, targeting annual revenue in the country of at least $2 billion to $3 billion by 2025, a top company executives said on Monday.

The plans come as Apple shifts production away from China following the strict COVID-related lockdowns and restrictions, and with trade and geopolitical tensions escalating between Beijing and Washington.

“The entire supply chain is now looking for alternatives. And India is poised to be one of the best alternatives,” Sasikumar Gendham, managing director, Salcomp Manufacturing India, told reporters in the southern Indian city of Chennai during an industry event.

“Everyone knows that the whole world has depended on this one country (China) for the past decades and it’s time to really diversify and declusterize,” he added.

Cupertino, California-based Apple has been betting big on India since starting iPhone assembly in the country in 2017 through Wistron (3231.TW) and then Foxconn (2317.TW), in line with the Indian government’s push for local manufacturing.

Gendham told Reuters that Salcomp would have a “critical role” in Apple’s supply chain.

Salcomp currently employs around 12,000 people at its Chennai factory, which manufactures mainly chargers, but also other smartphone parts.

It started Chennai operations in 2020 after reaching an agreement a year earlier to take over facilities previously owned by Finnish telecommunications equipment maker Nokia.

Gendham said he expects Indian businesses to generate at least $2 billion-$3 billion in revenue by 2025, from less than 40 billion rupees ($484 million) now.

Foxconn (2317.TW) is also planning to double its workforce at its iPhone factory in India over two years, Reuters reported last year.

JPMorgan analysts predicted last year that a quarter of all Apple products would be made outside of China by 2025, from 5% currently. Apple wants India to account for up to 25% of its production from around 5%-7% now, the country’s commerce minister said in January.

Salcomp also said it is preparing a residential complex with entertainment and educational facilities for around 15,000 people.

Reported by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Written by Sethuraman NR and Aditya Kalra; Edited by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Kirsten Donovan

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